• Dr. Chris Ahmad has filed court papers defending himself against the claims of Alex Rodriguez’s lawsuit: “Whatever injuries plaintiff may have sustained at the time and place alleged in the complaint were caused in whole or in part or were contributed to by the culpable conduct and want of care on the part of the plaintiff.” Christian Red has the story over at the Daily News.[5] Suing the team doctor was never going to end without a fight.

• Andrew Marchand mentions the idea of the Yankees signing Omar Infante as a sort of super utility type[6] — comparable to what Tony Phillips used to be in Oakland and Detroit — who plays every day, but at various positions. I love players like that (I grew up with Jose Oquendo and the National League game, and I specifically liked Phillips), and I think a regular utility type seems especially appealing given the current state of the Yankees infield, but I wonder how it would play out long term. I just think the Yankees would be better of focusing on specific roles for now, then looking into this sort of alternative plan later. Maybe I’m wrong. I don’t hate the idea, just seems like there are better hitters out there who can fill obvious holes. Have to assume that, at some point, the Yankees won’t have this many questions all over the place.

• Interesting story over at Baseball America about a low-level Yankees pitcher who’s eligible for the Rule 5 draft[8] because of unusual signing circumstances. It’s an interesting situation if you’re into this super nerdy minor leagues stuff — basically, Cuban lefty Omar Luis has a big arm and got a big signing bonus, but he’s never played above rookie ball and the Yankees chose not to protect him — but it probably has no impact. The chances of Luis being drafted and actually sticking on a big league roster are incredibly slim, just a kind of curious and unusual situation. I’d say Chase Whitley, Tommy Kahnle and Danny Burawa are Yankees pitchers with a much better chance of being lost in the Rule 5.